Thiel 6 versus 7.2

To my ears, the 7.2 is a finer speaker than the 6 and is especially useful in a large space, which requires a larger bass presence. Having said that, I listened to the 6 and 7.2 side by side for a couple of hours six+ years ago and ended up buying the 6 because they were both fine speakers with great overall presence and I couldn't justify the price difference based on the minor differences I heard at that time. But re-read your post and I believe your heart is with the 7.2 ;-) You'll end up losing some bucks if you buy the 6 now and decide you really need to move to the 7.2 -- trade-ins are always a more expensive way to go than buying the final product at the onset.

I haven't heard the 6. I jumped on a dealer demo pair of 7.2s from my previous 2.3s. The deal was too good to be true. For me, staying with Thiel made sense, and I agree that they are one of the best valued speakers at any of their price points. I imagine either model would be perfectly satisfying. I guess the questions to consider:
1) Is the room big enough for the 7.2s. I would speculate that if any wall is 15 ft or under at a minimum, it's going to be tight.
2) Are you willing to spend what it takes to make the 7.2s sound their best. We are talking about mega-power, and I suspect that the 6s would be easier to drive. Also, the source, cables, cords, etc all add up. Trust me from experience, the investment only begins with the purchase of the speakers. It's a bit like Pandora's box.
3) Consider buying a demo pair from a dealer. Having that warranty is really helpful, because speakers are fragile and expensive. If a dealer has a demo 6 going at a great price and in great shape, then you might want to jump on it. I'd probably buy a demo pair of 6s from a reputable dealer before I'd buy the 7.2s from an individual across the country. Not to say that people here are not trustworthy, it's just that I've had bad luck with shipping speakers. Fortunately, Thiel customer support should serve as a gold standard for other audio companies.

Good Luck,
Rob

I am considering the purchase of a pair of 7.2's in the future and am currently running 3.6's. My question is concerning power I am currently running a CJ MF2500a and I am in the process of purchasing a CJ Premier 140(tubed power amp); 140w per channel. What are your thoughts concerning whether or not the 140 will be enough power to drive the 7.2's.Dan my apologies for asking a question a bit of base from the original question.

Thanks, Chuck

I recently bought a pair of 7.2 Thiels. I'm building a 7.1 system with 3.5 in the rear, mcs1 center, 7.2 mains, velodyne subs, and currently design acoustic sides. Sixes and 7.2 have similiar imaging, both being better than what you currently have. With good sub placement the 6 may be very close to a 7.2
Older 7 can be upgraded to a 7.2 with the puchase of the 4000$ kit, plus labor if you have them do it. When done you will have a 7.2. The kit contains all new drivers, crossover, terminals, even trim to dress it like a 7.2. One cosmetic catch: Original 7 Thiels were made with cast concrete baffles. In shipment to dealers, many would develop cracks. Meaningless to the sound. Later production switched to the composite they use now. Thiel says the 7 upgraded to a 7.2, even with the hair cracks in the concrete, sounds like the factory 7.2.
Used 7 Thiels come up on audiogon for 3000 to 3500. Add 4g's for the kit and 7500$ isn't outragous. Haven't seen used 7.2 under 8000$. Model 6 is often under 4000$.
Sevens need a lot of power. 100 watts a channel isn't much for them, but if you have a powered sub it may work. Classe amps work very well with the Thiel line. Especially the CA300 and the CA400. I'm sure the new omega models in the classe line are even more capable. Used 300's are in the 1700$ to 2000$ range and can be bridged. 300w a channel in stereo. 900w plus bridged into 4 0hms.
I think sixes would make excellent center and surrounds in a multichannel system.

Dc2daylight,

Why stop there? What about surrounding yourself in the center of 7.2s with a radius of 12 feet from the speakers to your listening chair. I figure you could do this with the Thiels spaced on the circumference about 5 feet apart. You could probably do with 6 pair of the 7.2s unless you wanted to put a pair on the ceiling and build a pair into the floor underneath you. On second thought, forget about the speakers above and below you, because you would need 24 ft ceilings and would have to suspend yourself and the other 12 speaker 12 feet into the air. That would be excessive.

Danhirsh, see my post on 7.2 regarding amplifier suggestions: the 7.2 are more difficult to power than the 6, carefully consider this aspect before make a decision.